Syracuse outshot the Phantoms 48-30 in regulation, but it still took a Tye McGinn goal with just 30 seconds to go in the Third Period just for the Crunch to salvage a point from the game. The final shot advantage was 53-31 on a frustrating night where the Crunch probably deserved better.

The Crunch registered 53 shots on goal and controlled the play for long stretches, but needed a goal with the extra attacker on in the final minute of regulation to send the game to overtime. Led by Phantoms goalie Anthony Stolarz, Lehigh Valley prevailed over Syracuse in a shootout, 3-2, at the Onondaga County War Memorial Wednesday.

“I wish we would have gotten the two points tonight. We sorely need them,” Crunch head coach Rob Zettler said. “I’m happy with our guys’ effort. The process was good, the details were good, but the outcome was not what we wanted.”

Syracuse’s Mike Blunden finished with a goal and an assist. Tye McGinn added one goal, and Jeff Tambellini, Anthony DeAngelo, and Adam Erne each had one assist.

Mike Blunden and Tanner Richard were the game's first and third stars.

A 3 goals deficit in pro hockey SHOULD be a death sentence. Syracuse improbably erased a 3 goal deficit after 40 minutes only to see ex-Lightning property Mike Kostka put Bingo ahead with under a minute to go. Not to be deterred, Tye McGinn tied the game with under 10 seconds to go before Matthew Peca eventually put it away in the Shootout. When you cough up a 3 goal lead like that, it's emotionally devastating. When you come back and win a game by erasing one, it can be emotionally galvanizing. We'll see if the Crunch get a bounce off of this win.

Matthew Peca, Vasilevskiy, and Tye McGinn were the game's three stars. Peca, playing in his first game in a little over a month due to injury, had 1 goal and 1 assist in the First Period alone. I don't want to overplay Peca like he's the second coming, but he's the type of player that Syracuse doesn't have much of: a skilled playmaking centerman. They've got lots of grit, but not guys that are creators who put pressure on the opposing defense. That's why Peca's so important to Syracuse and why I have a sneaking suspicion their nosedive over the last month and Peca's injury were highly related.

During his first shift back from injury, Matthew Peca found the back of the net.

Peca was one of multiple players who contributed in their return to the Syracuse lineup, as the Crunch netted three first-period goals and hung on for a 3-2 win over the Binghamton Senators at the Onondaga County War Memorial Friday.

“I think any time you get a guy that’s a regular in the lineup back, it’s a spark and brings some energy,” said Crunch defenseman Slater Koekkoek. “I thought we had that tonight.”

The Crunch made a bold move with a little less than five minutes remaining.

Down by three goals and needing standing points to stay in the playoff picture, Syracuse head coach Rob Zettler pulled goalie Kristers Gudlevskis for an extra attacker. The tactic went awry a little more than a minute later, as the Americans’ Dan Catenacci scored into the empty net to seal Rochester’s 6-2 win over Syracuse at the Onondaga County War Memorial Saturday.

With the loss, the Crunch have dropped 11 out of their last 13 contests.

“We were desperate,” Zettler said. “We had to find a way to try and make something happen, and try and score a goal. We were down by three.”

The Crunch’s power play struck three times and the penalty kill held the Comets to one 5-on-3 marker, as Syracuse topped Utica, 5-4, at the Onondaga County War Memorial on Friday. The Crunch had lost nine straight coming into the contest.

“I expected our penalty kill to get us out of this slump,” Crunch head coach Rob Zettler said. “Before tonight, we hadn’t given up a 5-on-5 goal in three games. That’s a big deal. We needed our PK to come up big. That’s what we talked about and they did. They came up big for us tonight.”

Syracuse forward Jeff Tambellini registered two goals, Mike Blunden and Tye McGinn each had one goal and one assist, and Tanner Richard had two helpers. Matt Taormina rounded out the scoring, while Dylan Blujus, Ryan Martindale, Adam Erne, and Luke Witkowski each had one assist.